The present invention relates to vending apparatus in general, and more particularly to automated devices for filling reclosable bags.
Many vendable products are stored as intermingled quantities of goods, and are then dispensed to customers in bags. When carried out by hand this packaging approach can be labor intensive or unhygienic. An example of this type of product is cube ice.
Although the home freezer is capable of producing ice cubes, sometimes the occasion requires a greater quantity of ice than can be readily produced. Moreover, in some localities, the tap water may not be of a desired purity for producing optimal ice cubes to be placed in drinks. Hence it has long been known to make ice available in bags either as blocks or cubes for consumer purchase. Often this ice is produced off-site and shipped to the retail facility for vending. Where ice production apparatus is available on-site, manual filling of the bags is usually required, which dictates preparation of the bagged ice in batches. Typically the loaded bags of ice will then be stored in a freezer for sale as customers require throughout the day.
Ice cubes which are freshly frozen are often more attractive in terms of clarity and surface character. Moreover, by being stored at freezing temperature, but not significantly below freezing temperature, cubes can be kept from freezing to one another.
Ice machines which dispense ice cubes into plastic bags are known which heat seal the plastic bag to retain the cubes therein. Heat sealed bags have the drawback that they may not be resealed after the initial opening. Resealable plastic bags, such as those offered by S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. as Ziploc® Brand with Easy Zipper storage bags or the Hefty Slide-Rite® closure from Pactiv Corporation, provide convenient opening and closing of a plastic bag by hand. However, where such bags are filled with product in advance of sale in an automated form, fill, and seal machine, the components of the zipper bag are usually assembled into the final bag after the bag has been filled with product. For example, the bags may be filled inverted through an open bottom, after which a bottom seal is formed, or, alternatively, the zipper assembly may be sealed to one side of the bag at its mouth, the product introduced, and then the zipper assembly is connected to the opposite side of the bag. Such processes usually employ heat sealing and are complicated in that apparatus for actually assembling the bag itself is required.
Automated bag filling apparatus of the heat sealing type can perform advantageously in a controlled environment under the supervision of skilled personnel. However, when placed in a remote position, such as in a retail environment, heat sealing equipment can pose problems, as variations in the plastic composition of the bags and environmental conditions can interfere with optimal performance.
What is needed is a device which can automatically operate and fill a preformed zippered bag without human intervention for rapid, convenient and effective filling.